A Strange Hymn

Raintree

Linda Winstead Jones2007

A detective who manipulates electricity hunts a serial killer aided by wizards. He must balance the case with a new partner and his family legacy.

pace0·prose0·bleak0

The Claw of the Conciliator

Gene Wolfe1981

An exiled torturer travels with a gem that can heal the dead. The narrative uses archaic vocabulary and an unreliable perspective.

tense → dreamlike

pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

Ficciones

Jorge Luis Borges1945

A collection of short stories exploring philosophical paradoxes, infinite libraries, and imaginary encyclopedias.

tense → meditative

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

At Swim-Two-Birds

Flann O'Brien1939

A student writes a story about a man whose own characters rebel and plot against him. It incorporates Irish myth and multiple layers of fiction.

tense → playful

pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1

Fantasy Lover

Sherrilyn Kenyon2002

A Spartan warrior cursed to be a love-slave inside a book is summoned by a modern woman. She takes him into the world to live as a man.

tense → earnest, still paranormal romance

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

A Quick Bite

Lynsay Sands2005

A vampire who faints at the sight of blood finds a psychologist tied to her bed as a gift. They navigate his kidnapping and her family dynamics.

tense → playful, still paranormal romance

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

Big bad beast

Shelly Laurenston2011

A wolf-shifter Marine investigates a hybrid fighting ring while dealing with her persistent boss. It is a paranormal romance set in an urban world.

tense → playful, still paranormal romance

pace0·prose-1·bleak-1

The Stainless Steel Rat

Harry Harrison1961

A futuristic con man is caught by the Special Corps and forced to use his criminal skills to catch other lawbreakers.

tense → playful

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Psycho Beasts

Jasmine Mas2022

In the third book of a dark fantasy series, a royal heir faces an ultimatum while navigating a reverse harem relationship.

tense → sardonic, still paranormal romance

pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

Mind's Eye

Douglas E. Richards2014

A man discovers he has the ability to access the internet and process data directly with his mind. He is hunted by a secret organization.

tense → propulsive

pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

The Habitation of the Blessed

Catherynne M. Valente2010

A priest finds the lost kingdom of Prester John. The story is told through three nested layers of journals, myths, and historical accounts.

tense → dreamlike

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Unfinished Tales

J.R.R. Tolkien1980

A collection of incomplete narratives and essays that expand the history, geography, and lore of Middle-earth.

tense → meditative

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Moonwise

Greer Gilman1991

Two women are pulled into a world created by their own folk-tales. The narrative uses dense, archaic language to describe a shifting landscape.

tense → dreamlike

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

The Poppy War

R.F. Kuang2018

A war orphan enters a military academy and discovers shamanic powers. She leads a unit into a total war inspired by 20th-century Chinese history.

tense → bleak

pace0·prose0·bleak+2

The Traitor Baru Cormorant

Seth Dickinson2015

An accountant infiltrates the empire that conquered her home to destroy it from within. She uses economics and politics as her primary weapons.

tense → cold

pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

Song of Kali

Dan Simmons1985

An American poet travels to Calcutta to find a manuscript by a dead writer. He encounters a cult that worships the goddess of destruction.

tense → bleak

pace0·prose+1·bleak+2